The Scientist: The Story Behind the Song
by Lex Lennox
Summary: The story behind the song The Scientist by Coldplay


Ten years into the future

_**Ten years into the future... Lex has to find her way back to him...**_

_She slammed the car door with more force than needed. Running her slender fingers through her tousled hair, she gave a heavy sigh. "How am I going to face him…? After all these years?" she whispered questioningly to herself. They had such a terrible breakup all those years ago... Lex shook her head fiercely. She wouldn't let that bother her. Making sure her car was locked; she quickly walked across the street, heading for the Starbucks just ahead. She stood staring through the window. There he was... Clayton. He hasn't changed on bit, she thought, letting a few tears roll down her cheeks. Lex took a deep breath and headed inside. Clayton looked up from the food he was picking at the sound of the bell ringing, signaling the door had been open. His eyes met hers with the same warmth they had ten years ago. Lex gave a small smile and walked up to his table. "Lex?" he asked softly. All she could do was nod... He was still breathtakingly handsome..._

_**Come up to meet you, tell you I'm sorry  
You don't know how lovely you are**_

_"So why this sudden meeting?" Clayton asked, dropping his gaze to the half eaten bagel on the table. Lex sat down in the seat across from him, taking his hand in her own. "Clay," she began, "what happened to us?" What Lex didn't tell him then was that she needed him in her life... She felt so empty... so alone without him. Clay laughed without humor. "You told me you never wanted to see my ugly mug again," he whispered softly, but with an edge in his voice. That did it. Tears started to stream down Lex's face at an alarming rate. "I never meant that... I was just upset. All our last conversations were one-sided... Tension built up. I thought you were going to leave me," she managed to choke out between her muffled sobs. "Clay... I need you."_

_**I had to find you  
Tell you I need you  
Tell you I've set you apart**_

_His eyes found hers again. He stared at her with an almost unbearable gaze. "Why now? Why not ten years ago?" he asked. "I needed you, too." His voice drifted off. "That," she whispered, "is a secret." He narrowed his eyebrows, obviously not in the mood for jokes. "Alexandria! This is no time for jokes! Why didn't you tell me then?" he demanded, tears starting to form in his eyes. She dropped her gaze, trying to become invisible. "I loved you, and if I told you, I thought you wouldn't feel the same. I thought you thought that our relationship was just a... temporary thing. That it was better off going the way it was headed," she said, her voice no more than a whisper. Clay gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "I wanted it to last forever, and that's my little secret." Her eyes found his again, and she knew that he was not lying. "Is there anyway we can... start over?" she asked, bracing herself for his answer._

_**Tell me your secrets  
And ask me your questions  
Oh, let's go back to the start**_

_Clayton slowly shook his head sadly. "I'm sorry, but that's impossible," he said sadly, turning his head so that he wasn't facing her. "Why's that?" Lex demanded, her voice breaking. He shook his head again. "Just go," he said. She yanked her hand out of his, getting up out of her chair as quickly as she could. "You jerk!" she yelled, raising her hand, meaning to strike. "I thought... I thought." She looked around the crowded Starbucks. All eyes were on her and Clayton. Her eyes welled up with tears again and she raced out of the coffee shop. "What was that all about, baby?" a girl asked, coming to sit next to Clay. "Oh, nothing," he said, watching Lex disappear out the door... forever._

Lex ran across the street, not bothering to notice the cars. She wouldn't mind if she got killed by one of them at this point. Quickly unlocking her car, she got in and drove away as fast as she could. "Stupid, stupid, stupid jerk!" she yelled at herself, pounding a free hand on the dashboard. She drove to her old neighborhood, the neighborhood she lived in ten years ago. Her thoughts kept drifting to her old memories... Her first kiss was way back in the woods behind her house. She was so preoccupied with her memories that she didn't even notice she was driving in circles...

_**Running in circles  
Comet tails  
Heads on the science apart**_

_Clayton felt his heart sink into the bottom of his stomach. "Look, Morgan, it isn't working out between us anymore," he said, not even looking at the girl sitting next to him. "What? Is there another woman involved in this!" she yelled, outraged. He turned to face her, a smirk plastered on his face. "Yeah, actually. There is." Morgan raised her hand and slapped him across the face. "Bitch!" she yelled before stomping out of the Starbucks. "Now to find Lex..." he muttered to himself. He raced out of the coffee store, flying at top speed towards his bike. "I can't lose her again! I can't be apart from her..." he whispered to himself, hopping on his motorcycle. "Now where would she have gone?" he quietly asked himself, riding towards the main road. An old memory of his first kiss drifted past his mind. "That's it!" he yelled, accelerating towards his old neighborhood. "If I tell her I love her," he began, but then stopped himself. "This is too hard! Then again, no one said this would be easy..."_

_**Nobody said it was easy  
It's such a shame for us to part  
Nobody said it was easy  
No one ever said it would be this hard**_

Oh take me back to the start

_He pulled into the driveway of his old house, slowly taking off his helmet. "Lex?" he called out, getting off his bike and tucking his helmet under his arm. "Where are you?" he looked around the deserted road, seeing one lone car parked near her old house. "That has to be hers," he said to himself, walking towards it. He put his face up to the front window and squinted, trying to get a better look inside. No one was in there. "Where could she be?" he questioned angrily, kicking the tire. He sat down, his back up against her car, and he closed his eyes. The wind was blowing ever so slightly, and the wind seemed to have a crying sound to it. His eyes jerked open. "Lex?" he asked to himself, getting up and making his way towards the sound. Then, he saw her. She was kneeling in the meadow they had first kissed in, but this time she was crying. Clayton walked over to her, his shadow shading her from the sun. When she looked up, he noticed her eyes were swollen. "What do you want? Are you here to try and figure me out? Are you trying to guess how I feel?" she asked, her voice hoarse._

_**I was just guessing  
At numbers and figures  
Pulling your puzzles apart**_

_"No, I just have questions," he replied, sitting down next to her. "Like why you ran out on me?" She snapped her head up and looked him in the eyes. "You. Don't. Love. Me!" she yelled. Clayton took her hand in his, placing them on his heart. "See how fast that's racing? Nothing speaks as loud as this when I'm around you," he said lovingly, gazing at her dreamily._

_**Questions of science  
Science and progress  
Do not speak as loud as my heart**_

_"W-what?" she asked him. His heart WAS racing. It was much faster than her own. "Lex. Beautiful, wonderful, sweet Lex. Why can't you see," he paused, inching closer to her face. "That I love you?" She backed away slowly; more tears welling up in her eyes. "This will all just come back to haunt me... You don't really love me. You're in love with who I used to be. I'm not the same girl, Clay," she whispered, placing an open palm on his cheek. "You fell in love with the scientist Lex. This is the writer Lex." Her tears spilled down her cheeks, but a small smile was on her face. "I'm so sorry, Clay." "I know who I'm in love with! I love you! This you! The old you! Just you!" he cried out, wishing that every second that she would believe him..._

_**Come tell me you love me  
Come back and haunt me  
All in a rush to the start**_

_Lex held her breath. She was in shock. "We're talking in circles, Clay," she whispered. Chasing our tails." He chuckled grimly, his bright blue eyes burning into her green eyes. "Well, then I don't care. As long as we can go back to what we were ten years ago." Lex forced a smile. "But we can't. There would be too many complications... Do you think we're going to just pick up where we left off? Do you think I'll just melt in your arms, do you think you'll just whisk me away like you used to?" she questioned, tears streaming down her face. He wiped away her tears with his thumb. "No more tears. I won't cause you anymore pain," he whispered._

_**Running in circles  
Chasing our tails  
Comin' back as we are**_

_Clayton smiled and gave Lex's hand a gentle squeeze. "Lex... This won't be easy, but I know one thing," he paused, and then looked deeply into her eyes. "I don't want to be away from you ever again." Lex smiled too, but she was still crying. "It won't work, it won't work," she kept repeating._

_**Nobody said it was easy  
Oh, it's such a shame for us to part  
Nobody said it was easy  
No one ever said it would be so hard**_

_"All I'm asking for is a chance," he whispered, inching closer to her. She shook her head; she knew she would just end up getting hurt in the long run. He wiped away her tears one last time, and then he tilted her chin up. Clayton gently pressed his lips to hers, wishing... hoping... praying... that she would change her mind. He wrapped his arms around her, and she brought her arms up around his neck. It was as if nothing ever went wrong between them... It was as if they were nineteen again. When they broke apart, Lex was crying, but they were ears of joy. "I love you, Clayton," she whispered against his lips. "I've always loved you," he whispered back. The sun set over their meadow, the moon rose, and their love blossomed... Starting over never seemed so easy..._

_**I'm going back to the start...**_


End file.
